Refrigerating apparatus for window mounting



Feb. 28, 1950 E. s. DYBVIG REFRIGERATING APPARATUS FOR WINDOW MOUNTINGS Filed Oct. 29, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ROOM coouue name 100% accmcuuwzb AIR.

s m W W 0 EN Feb. 28, 1950 E. s. DYBVIG 2,498,661

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS FOR WINDOW MOUNTINGS Filed Oct. 29, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 COOLING 0E VENTlLHTlNG |oo% OUTS\DE me 52L ROOM OUTS|DE HEATING \O07- REGRCULATED NR ROOM OUTS\ DE HEATING I007. OUTSIDE AIR OUT 5| DE IN V EN TOR. Edwin S. .0: vi

ROOM

Feb; 28, 1950 E. s. DYBVIG REFRIGERATING APPARATUS FOR wmnow uoummcs r'iled Oct. 29, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

B g-7s OUTSIDE Q- u 10 n In OUTSIDE ROOM 3 INVENTOR. Eda 1 illybw'y. WMMG my a 7A 7 5 Patented Feb. 28, 1950 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS FOR WINDOW MOUNTING Edwin S. Dybvig, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application October 29, 1945, Serial No. 625,401

14 Claims. 1 This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to an improved air conditioning unit.

One object of this invention is to provide an improved reverse heat flow air conditioning unit capable of heating or cooling either recirculated air, fresh air, or a mixture of both.

A further object of this invention is to provide a room air conditioning unit in which a conventional refrigeration system is mounted on a support which may be rotated so as to change over from heating to cooling or vice versa merely by rotating the support and in which dampers are provided for varying the ratio of fresh air to recirculated air discharged into. the conditioned space.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a rotatable type of air conditioning unit having an evaporator compartment and a condenser compartment in which the ratio of fresh air to recirculated air entering each compartment may be varied independently of the other 7 and independently of rotation of the unit.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved type of air conditioning unit in which the air inlet openings are provided in the bottom wall of the air conditioning unit.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line ll of Fig. 2 and shows the general arrangement of a preferred form of rotatable air conditioning unit;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on line 22 of Fig. 1 and shows the arrangement of the heat exchange elements and the air inlets and outlets;

Figs. 3 through 5 are diagrammatic views showing several of numerous different possible settings of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 66 of Fig. 'l and shows a modified cabinet arrangement in which the air inlets are provided in the bottom wall of the air conditioning cabinet;

' Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on line of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 diagrammatically shows the apparatus shown in Fig. 7 when heating of the air is desired;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the construction of one of the air controlling dampers'and is taken substantially on line 9-9 of Fig; 7; and,

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line |0-l0 of Fig. 9 looking in direction of the arrows.

The invention set forth herein incorporates the basic arrangement for reversing the heat flow of the air conditioning unit disclosed and claimed in my copending application S. N. 520,435 filed January 31, 1944, now Patent No. 2,405,411, issued August 6, 1946, but diifers therefrom in the arrangement for controlling the ratio of fresh air to recirculated air passing through the air conditioning apparatus. In the original rotatable reverse heat flow unit disclosed in said copending application, the unit was rotated not only when it was desired to convert the unit from a heating unit to a cooling unit or vice versa but also whenever it was desired to vary the amount of fresh air introduced in the room through the unit. In the arrangement shown herein, the

unit is rotated only when it is desired to reverse the cycle.

The air conditioning unit shown in Figs. 1 through 5 of the drawing comprises a stationary cabinet l2 which is adapted to be supported in a Window opening or any other suitable wall opening so as to have the one portion of the cabinet projecting intothe outside atmosphere and the manner best shown in Fig. 2. A wall 22 separates the rotatable cabinet 20 into two separate compartments 24 and 26 which constitute the evaporator compartment and the condenser compartment respectively. Condensate collecting in the pan 2! may be disposed of in any suitable manner such as by the drain pipe 29 which conveys the condensate into the condenser compartment where it is evaporated and picked up by the condenser air stream. The evaporator compartment 24 is provided with an air inlet 28 and an air outlet 30 arranged as shown. The condenser compartment 26 is likewise provided with an air inlet 32 and an air outlet 34.

A fan motor 36 disposed within the condenser compartment 26 operates both the condenser fan 38 and the evaporator fan 40.

For purposes of illustration, the outer casing or cabinet I2 has been shown as having a rectangular shape whereas other shapes could be used without departing from the spirit of my invention. A wall 42 has been provided within the cabinet I2 so as to separate the air flowing through the condenser compartment 26 from the air flowingthrough the evaporator compartment 24. One end of the cabinet I2 is provided with a pair of air inlet openings 44 and 48 which are controlled by means of the slide damper 48 which may be adjusted so as to vary the ratio of recirculated air to fresh air admitted through these openings. A conditioned air outlet 50 has been provided in the front wall of the cabinet I2 as shown. The rear wall of the cabinet I2 is provided with air inlet and outlet openings 52 and 54 which are arranged as shown.

An air filter 58 has been provided for filtering the air flowing through the evaporator compartment 24, and a somewhat similar air filter 58 has been'provided for filtering the air flowing through the condenser compartment 26. These filters are arranged adjacent the fans as shown so as to absorb some of the fan noise. I have shown all of the inlets and outlets protected by means of screens but it is obvious that decorative grills could be substituted for the screens in at least some of the openings.

With the apparatus arranged as shown in Fig. 2, 100% room air is circulated through the evaporator compartment and 100% outside air is circulated through .the condenser compartment. By moving the damper'48 from the position in which it is, shown in Fig. 2 to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3, the apparatus no longer cools recirculated air but serves to cool fresh outside air and causes a positive pressure to be built up within the conditioned space whereby an amount of air corresponding to the amount to air introduced into the room through the opening 46 is required to escape from the room through various cracks and other openings in the walls of theroom. By virtue of this fact, very little, if any, unfiltered air will seep into theroom from the outside atmosphere. The damper 48 may be adjusted so as to vary from to 100% the ratio of the inside air to outside air flowing through the conditioning 'unit. .The conditioning apparatus may be manually controlled so as to turn on and off the coolingat will or it may be automatically controlled by means of a thermostat responding either to the room air temperature, the outside air temperature or a combination of both. The fan motor may be op- 55 eratde even though the refrigeration is turned off so as to provide for circulation of the air. No controls have been shown, as controls of this type arenow well-known.

When it is desired to convert the unit from a cooling unit to heating unit, casing 20 is rotated from the position in which it is shown in Figs.

, 2-and 3 to the position to which it is shown in is possible to heat either the fresh air, recirculated air or any desired mixture of both merely by properly setting the control damper 48.

In Figs. 6 through I have shown a modified arrangement in which the air inlet openings are provided in the bottom wall of the inner rotatable cabinet 10 and the outer stationary cabinet 12. For purposes of illustration I have shown the outer cabinet as being circular in shape whereas other shapes could be used without departing from the spirit of my invention.

It is generally recognzed that it is desirable to provide air inlets in the bottom wall of an air conditioning cabinet in preference to a side wall. This is particularly true of the outside air inlets since it is desirable to protect the outside air inlets from rain and snow. As best shown in Fig. 7 of the drawing, the evaporator compartment which has been designated by thereference numeral 14 is provided with a pair of inlet openings I6 and 18 which are arranged side by side so as to be controlled by means of a single damper 80 which is slidably disposed so as to control the ratio of fresh air to outside air in much the same manner as the damper 48 described herein above controls the ratio of fresh air .to outside air introduced into the cabinet I2. The condenser compartment which has been designated by the reference numerals 82 is likewise provided with a pair of air inlet openings 84 and 88 which are controlled by a common damper 88. Thus it is apparent that the damper 88 may be shifted so as to vary the ratio of fresh air to room air stationary outer cabinet 12 is provided with openings (such as the openings 89 and 9I best shown in Fig. 9) in vertical alignment with the openings I8, 18, 84 and 88. The dampers 80 and 88 may be supported by the inner rotatable cabinet so as to rotate therewith or may be supported by the outer stationary cabinet, as shown in the drawings, in which case the dampers do not rotate with the inner cabinet. One of the advantages of the above described arrangement of air inlet openings is that the air conditioning apparatus may be used for exhausting room air at the same time that fresh air is being introduced through the unit into the conditioned space. By allowing a greater amount of fresh air to be introduced into the conditioned space than is exhausted therefrom, apositive pressure may be maintained within the conditioned space so as to prevent or at least reduce the infiltration of unfiltered unconditioned air into the conditioned space.

Fig. '7 shows the arrangement of the apparatus when cooling is required whereas Fig. 8 diagrammatically shows the arrangement of the apparatus when heating is required.

Reference numeral 90 designates the air outletprovided in the outer cabinet 12 on the room side whereas reference numeral 92. designates the corresponding outside air outlet. Reference numerals 94, 96, and 98 designate the evaporator,

the condenser, and the compressor respectively of a conventional refrigeration system. The fan motor has been designated by the reference numeral I00 whereas thecondenser fan has been designated by the reference numeral I02 and the evaporator fan by the reference numeral I04. The'condensate disposal means is the same in both units and needs no further description.

By virtue of the construction and arrange- 7 ment shown in the drawings, a single fan motor may be used for operating both fans and this one motor may be disposed within the condenser compartment with the result that any heat given off by the" motor will not materially reduce the efllciency of the apparatus. Furthermore, the

which enters the condenser compartment. The

arrangement of the fans is such that the, end

thrust on the fan shaft is substantially balanced I since the fans propel air in opposite directions,

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows: 1. In combination with a wall of a room hav ing an opening therein, a stationary housing disposed within said opening, a cabinet disposed within said stationary housing, a refrigerating system including an evaporator and a condenser connected to said evaporator and mounted within said cabinet, means for flowing one stream of air in thermal exchange with said evapora- -tor, means for flowing another stream of air in thermal exchange with said condenser, said stationary housing. and said cabinet having a plurality of registering openings for the. ingress and egress of said air streams, certain of said openings communicating with the inside atmosphere and other of said openings communicating with the outside atmosphere, means for rotatably mounting said cabinet within said stationary housing whereby the openings in said rotatable cabinet may be shifted into a different registry with the openings in said stationary housing, and damper means cooperating with certain of said openings for varying the ratio of outside air to inside air introduced into said stationary cabinet to -form one of saidair streams.

2. An air conditioning unit for a room comprising in combination, a cabinet having one portion adapted to project into the room and having another portion adapted to project into the outside atmosphere, means dividing said cabinet into a first ian compartment and a second fan compartment, fan means in each of said compartments, each of said fan compartments having inlet and outlet opening means, the inlet opening means of one of said compartments being located in the bottom wall of the compartment and adapted to communicate with the inside atmosphere and the outside atmosphere, means forvarying the ratio of outside air to room air introduced through said opening means, means for transferring heat from the air flowing through one of said compartments to the air flowing through the other of said compartments, and means for interchanging the relative locations of said fan compartments.

3. Air conditioning apparatus of'the self-contained type comprising in combination, a cabinet adapted to be supported in an opening in a wall with one portion of the cabinet projecting into the outside atmosphere and another portion projecting into-the space to be conditioned, a refrigerating system including an evaporator and a condenser connected to said evaporator and mounted within said cabinet,

4. Air conditioning apparams 'o' the self-contained type comprising in combination, a frame adapted for installation in an opening formed in onewall of an enclosure, a cylindrical housing supported in the frame for rotation about its axis-a partition dividing the interior of said housing into two chambers selectively registerable with the interior and exterior of the enclosure, means for changing the temperature of the airpassing through one'chamber, said housing having opening means -ior the passage of air through said chambers, the opening means for one of said chambers cbmprising two'inlet openings adapted to be disposed on opposite sides of said wall during operation of the apparatus, and damper means cooperating with 'said openings for varying the amount of air entering said housing through each of said openings.

5. An air conditioning' unit comprising a cylindrical housing having a partition dividing the interior of "the housing into two chambers and having peripheral openings through the side wall thereof at opposite sides of the partition to enable the discharge of air 'from each chamber, an evaporator contoured to correspond to .the radius of curvature of the side wall of the housing-and supported in one chamber at the inner side of one of said openings, a condenser also contoured to correspond to the radiusof curvature of said wall of the housing and positioned at the inner side of another of said openings, one of said chambers being provided with a pair of openings in the bottom wall thereof for the introduction of air into said chamber, one of said openings being adapted to communicate with the outside atmosphere and the other of said openings being adapted to communicate with inside atmosphere,- damper means for varying the ratio of inside air to outside air introduced through said bottom openings, and refrigerant flow connections connecting said evaporator and said condenser.

.6. In combination with a wall having an opening therein, a stationary housing disposed within said opening, a cabinet disposed within said stationary housing, means for rotatably supporting said cabinet within said housing, means dividing the cabinet into an evaporator compartment and a condenser compartment, an evaporator in said evaporator compartment, a condenser within said condenser compartment, a compressor, refrigerant flow connections between said evapora-. tor, condenser, and compressor, a plurality of air outlet openings provided in the wall of said stationary housing, a plurality of complementary air outlet openings provided in the wall of said cabinet, said stationary housing having air inlet opening means provided in the bottom wall thereof in side by side relationship with the one portion of said inlet opening means arranged in communication with the outside atmosphere and the other portion of said inlet opening means arranged in communication with the inside atmosphere, said rotatable cabinet having two bottom air inlet opening means either of which may be moved in registry with the opening means provided in the bottom wall'of said stationary said apparatus, means carried by said support for circulating air over each of said elements, partitioned means cooperating with said support and. said casing for separating the air flowing over said evaporator element from the air flowing over said condenser element so as to establish two air streams, means for' movably mounting said support relative to said casing so as to shift said streams relative-to saidopening means, and means including a damper cooperating with said opening means for controlling the ratio ofoutside air to room air flowing over one of said elements.

8. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination, a stationary housing, said housing having opening means for the introduction of fresh air and recirculated air,

disposed withinsaid casing, means cooperating with said casing to form a plurality of air flow passages, said elements being disposed in sepa rate air flow passages, a fan in each of said passages, said casing having a plurality of air open.- ings constituting inlets and outlets for said passages and means for rotatably supporting said the inside atmosphere respectively, one of said for an enclosure dividing said cabinet into a first fan compartment and a second fan-compartment, fan means in each of said compartments independently circulating the atmosphere therein, each ofsaid fan compartments having first and second inlet openings in the bottom wall thereof adapted to communicate with the :outside atmosphere and fan compartments having a vertical wall portion provided with an outlet opening adapted to communicate with one of said atmospheres and the other of said fan compartments having a. vertical wall portion provided with an outlet' opening adapted to communicate with the other of said atmospheres, andclosure means cooperating with said opening for varying the ratio of easing within said stationary housing so as to provide for realignment of said air flow passages with the' opening means of said stationary housing.

9. In combination, a wall having an opening therein, ,a stationary housing disposed within said opening with one portion projecting on one side of said wall and another portion projecting on the other side of said wall, an air conditioning unit disposed within said housing, means for mounting said unit for rotation within said housing, said unit comprising a rotatable casing having peripheral openings for the ingress and egress of air, means for circulating air to be conditioned into one of said openings and out through another of said openings, said housing having a pair of air inlets adapted to supply air to one of said, openings, said inlets being arrange to supply air from opposite sides of said wall, and damper means carried by said housing for controlling the flow of air through said inlets.

casing so as to shift the openings in said outer.

casing relativethe opening in said inner casing,

air into said outer casing from one of said bodies of air.

11. A ventilator for a room comprising in com-- bination, a cabinet having one portion adapted to project into the room and having another portion adapted to project into the outside atmosphere, a complete dividing wall means. completely outside air to room air introduced into eachof saidcompartm'ents. g

1 12. A ventilator for aroom comprising in combination, a cabinet having one portion adapted to project into the room andhaving another; portion adapted to project into the outside atmosphere, means dividing said cabinet into a flrst fan compartment and a second fan compartment, fan means in each of said compart- J ments, each of said fan compartments having inlet opening means in the bottom wall thereof adapted to communicate with'the outside atmosphere and the inside atmosphere, one of said fan compartments having an outlet opening adapted to communicate with one of said atmospheres and the other, of said fan compartments having .an outlet opening adapted to communicatewith the other of said atmospheres, means for vary'- fan compartment and a second fan compartment,

fan means in each of said compartments, each of said fan compartments having first and second inlet openings in the bottom wall thereof adapted to communicate with the outside atmosphere and the inside atmosphere respectively, one of said fan compartments having an outlet opening adapted to communicate with one of said atmospheres and the other of said fan compartments and damper means controlling the admission of having an outlet opening adapted to communicate with the other of said atmospheres, means for bination, a cabinet having one portion adapted to project into the room and having another portion adapted to project into the outside atmosphere, a complete dividing wall means completely dividing said cabinet into a first fan compartment and a second .fan compartment,

fan means in each of said compartments independently circulating the atmosphere therein; each of said fan compartments having first and second inlet openings iri the bottom wall thereof adaptedto communicate with the outside atmosphere and the inside atmosphere respectively, one of said fan compartments having a vertical wall portion provided with an outlet opening adapted to communicate with one of said atmospheres and the other of said fan compartments having a vertical wall portion provided with an outlet opening adapted to communicate with the other of said atmospheres, and closure means cooperating with said openings for varying the ratio of outside air to room air introduced into each of said compartments, 9. refrigerating means including a vertical condenser means extending substantially entirely over one of said outlet openings and a vertical evaporating means 10 extending substantially entirely over the second outlet opening.

.EDWIN s. DYBVIG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS m Number Name Date 2,296,635 Foehrenback Sept. 22, 1942 2,401,560 Graham June 4, 1946 2 205311 Dybvig Aug. 6, 1946 

